CORONER RULES DEATH HOMICIDE : LANCASTER MAN ASPHYXIATED IN TULSA BAR.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

The death of a Lancaster aerospace worker in a Tulsa, Okla., topless bar has been ruled a homicide by coroner officials, who determined the cause of death was asphyxiation by chest compression.

Robert D'Errico, a 33-year-old father of four girls and a girls' softball coach, died Sept. 24 after he was pinned down by a 490-pound bouncer and two others who said he and a friend got unruly, bothered the dancers and refused to leave.

``Since the medical examiner has given back a ruling, we will complete the investigation and hand it over to the District Attorney's office in Tulsa,'' Tulsa police spokesman Lucky Lamons said. ``It's the DA's decision what to charge.''

With the holiday season, Lamons said he did not know when the investigation would be finished.

Contributing to D'Errico's death were the ``toxic effects'' of the drugs ephedrine, guaifenesin and alcohol, said John Pojman, investigator with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

D'Errico's blood-alcohol level was .17, Pojman said.

D'Errico and a co-worker were in Tulsa on business and had visited Lady Godiva's around midnight Sept. 24, police said. Police said bar workers told them the men had been touching topless dancers.

Tulsa police said the two men were asked to leave. When two bouncers approached D'Errico, he shook them off. Then a third bouncer came and laid on top of D'Errico to control him, police said.

The third bouncer, who weighs 490 pounds, sat on D'Errico until he went limp; then someone discovered he had stopped breathing, police said.

Bar patrons and workers attempted to revive D'Errico by performing CPR until paramedics arrived. Taken to St. John Medical Center, he was pronounced dead minutes later.